The Benefits of Choosing a Community Preschool
As parents, grandparents, and caregivers, you have many choices to make about your child’s early education. Should you send your child to preschool or keep them home? What is the difference between daycare and traditional preschools? How do you know when your child is ready to begin preschool?
We talk to a lot of families as they explore their preschool options. Our incredible community is full of great preschools–so why do so many people enjoy having their children at Wooddale Community Nursery School?
There are many benefits of choosing a small, community preschool! Here are some of the reasons our families love our school.
Great relationships
Wooddale Community Nursery School is more than just a preschool–it’s a community. The teachers and families work together to create something special each year. Parents get to know each other at pick-up and drop-off, but they also have the chance to spend time together during special events and programs.
Families also get to know their child’s teacher well. We love having time to connect with families every day and throughout the year! We also love hearing about the lifelong friendships that have started right here at Wooddale.
Small class sizes
At WCNS, we’re lucky to have four dedicated teachers and 30 or fewer students. We can get to know each child well and connect with each of them every day because of our low teacher-to-student ratio. Students get to know their teacher and all other staff well, allowing them to feel comfortable and cared for in school.
Community involvement
Community is important at Wooddale–it’s even in our name! We invite special local guests to school to share science, music, stories, art, and more throughout the year. While we had to take a break from field trips due to Covid in recent years, we will resume taking field trips in 2023/24–and we’re very excited!
We believe that it’s important that kids know that they’re part of a loving, thriving community. We take every opportunity to introduce new experiences, traditions, and knowledge from our vibrant community throughout the year.
Consistent staff
Wooddale Community Nursery School has provided play-based preschool in St. Louis Park for nearly two decades. Our incredible director, Sue, was one of the founders of WCNS and has guided her staff for the past five years as teachers Julie, Karita, and Christina transitioned into these roles. We are a strong, dedicated team with a lot of education and experience in early education–and we’re so excited to carry on WCNS traditions for years to come.
Traditions
Wooddale Community Nursery School was founded on the belief that playing, being nurtured and challenged, and developing social skills are essential to success in school and life. Many WCNS traditions remain unchanged, allowing generations of kids to have the same incredible experiences.
We love hearing “big kids” who attended WCNS as they fondly remember the Thanksgiving Feast, acting out Caps For Sale, singing our fun, traditional songs, and more.
Learn More About Our Play-Based Community Preschool
If you or someone you love is looking for a wonderful preschool in Minneapolis, Edina, or St. Louis Park, please get in touch or fill out an application. We would love to answer any questions you have about our play-based preschool in St. Louis Park. Call or email anytime!
A Peek at Our Day
Have you ever wondered what a day in a play-based preschool is really like? Here is a quick look at our school schedule!
9 am: Arrival. Kids arrive and go to their classrooms. At Wooddale, our classes are small—10 kids or fewer per group. We begin the morning by talking about our theme of the week, the date, our weather, and any changes or special events.
9:25: Free play! All the kids play together in our beautiful space upstairs. Our toys, sensory activities, and large motor activities change weekly to keep things fresh and interesting. During free play, each child has time to work on a special art project for the day.
10:30: Story and clean up. A teacher reads a group story and then assigns children to clean up an “area” of the playroom. Kids and teachers work together to put everything back in place to prepare the room for the next day.
10:45: Bathroom break and handwashing. The kids have access to a bathroom at all times, but this is our scheduled bathroom break of the day. Everyone goes to the bathroom to go potty and wash their hands.
10:55: Snacktime! Kids enjoy a simple snack in their classrooms with their small group. We provide snacks, which include pretzels, cheese, yogurt, fresh fruits and veggies, and crackers.
11:15: Music. We sing songs, read stories, dance, act out stories, play instruments, and learn about new ways to create sounds. Our music time is another excellent way to explore the week’s theme.
11:40: Small group time. We return to our classrooms and have a small group activity. Tuesdays are show-and-tell days, when kids are encouraged to bring something from home to share. On the other days, we read stories, do simple science activities, sing songs, do art projects, and more!
Noon: Dismissal/Lunchtime transition. Some kids go home for lunch, while others eat at school. Those who go home are dismissed to their grown-ups from their classrooms. Kids who stay for lunch go upstairs for a brain break before starting lunch. They listen to stories, relax with music, or do some active play—it depends on the group’s energy at that time!
12:30: Handwashing and lunch. Kids wash their hands and sit down to eat lunch.
1:00: Play and activities. After lunch, we play simple board games, do obstacle courses, have scavenger hunts, play Bingo, and so much more.
1:30: Dismissal. Children get ready to go home. Caregivers pick up their students outside their classrooms and have time to connect with the teachers.
Our play-based preschool program is designed to help kids learn school routines and develop their independence, all while having so much fun! If you are looking for a preschool in St. Louis Park, please reach out to us to schedule a visit or download our application!
How Does Play-Based Preschool Support Kindergarten Readiness?
Recently, Wooddale hosted a guest speaker to talk to our families about fostering the skills that prepare children to be successful in Kindergarten. Katie Nagel is a seasoned Kindergarten teacher currently leading the “Ready, Set, Kindergarten” program at Deephaven in Minnetonka.
Katie shared her insights and experiences in getting kids ready for Kindergarten. She answered questions about what Kindergarten readiness really means and talked at length about how play-based preschool prepares children to transition into the classroom.
We hope this summary helps you support your child as they take this big step!
What Does Kindergarten Readiness Look Like?
Kindergarten has changed over the years. Instead of a half-day program several days a week–as many parents had when they were growing up– Kindergarten now entails a full day of school. The length of the day and rigorous academic expectations can seem overwhelming to parents sending kids into a structured school environment for the first time. So, what skills can we foster to help kids transition into Kindergarten as comfortably as possible?
First, Katie said, kids need to arrive at school with confidence and independence. This comes from having a good grasp of some of the basic life skills they’ll use every day. Important skills include:
Being potty trained
The ability to cover coughs and sneezes
Good handwashing skills
Being able to get dressed independently–tying or fastening shoes, zipping sweatshirts and jackets, knowing how to put on winter gear without help
Opening food packaging
Using scissors correctly
Following simple, one or two-step directions
The next aspect of Kindergarten readiness is the ability to regulate their emotions. This includes things like:
Separating from parents or caregivers without a great deal of anxiety
Being able to wait their turn
Maintaining focus for the duration of a 5-10 minute activity
Showing empathy for others–recognizing others’ needs are important, too
Being able to ask for what they need
Finally, academic skills that are helpful when entering Kindergarten include:
Letter recognition
Recognizing 2D and some 3D shapes
Counting up to 31
Basic subtraction
These skills are not necessary to begin Kindergarten, but they can help your child confidently transition into school. The more self-assured your child feels in these skills, the better they’ll feel about going to school–and the less stress they’ll accumulate throughout the day.
What Can Parents Do to Support Kindergarten Readiness?
Parents play a significant role in a child’s Kindergarten readiness–and the answer isn’t to do more. In fact, Katie recommends that parents foster their child’s independence by letting them do more for themselves.
“Never do anything for your child they can do for themselves,” Katie recommended. Instead of “rescuing” your child from their frustration, give them tools to manage it, solve the problem, and keep trying.
This simple piece of advice can greatly impact your child’s independence and self-esteem. Creating an enriching, empowering home environment that supports physical and emotional well-being is essential.
Here are six things you can do to actively support your child’s overall health and school readiness.
Prioritize sleep: Stick to a regular bedtime and nap routine that allows your child to get the sleep they need. Preschool-aged children require 10-13 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
Use natural consequences in your discipline: If your child makes a mess, have them clean it up. If they hurt someone, have them ask the injured person how they can help make it right.
Develop a routine: Children thrive on structure and routine, so follow a schedule as much as possible. Use visual clues to talk about what will happen during your day and review it often. Discuss changes to your plan ahead of time whenever possible.
Encourage fine motor skills: Give your kids many opportunities to strengthen their hands and fingers so they’ll have the stamina for the copious writing they’ll do in Kindergarten. Give them Legos, play dough, beads, tweezers, crayons, and snap-together blocks to help them refine these skills.
Limit screen time: Passive entertainment can keep kids occupied, but it should be limited. Kids should spend very little time in front of screens, including iPads, TVs, and phones. Allow kids to be “bored” so that they can find ways to entertain themselves and develop their imaginations and creativity.
Talk to your kids: This one seems deceivingly simple, but it can help boost their vocabulary and understanding of the world. Talk about what you’re doing, point out letters and shapes you see as you go about your day, and have them suggest rhyming words as you’re out and about (“I see a car–what rhymes with car? Far, tar, jar–what else?”). These simple conversations can help them develop Kindergarten readiness skills.
Getting ready for Kindergarten isn’t something that happens over a short period just before school begins. Instead, much of it occurs naturally throughout a child’s early years in small moments and opportunities each day.
How Does Play-Based Preschool Get Kids Ready for Kindergarten?
At Wooddale, we see Kindergarten readiness developing every day. The four of us will often talk about the leaps in development we’re seeing in our students throughout the year, and it makes us so proud and grateful to be part of this process.
Play-based preschool is different than academic programs in many ways. First, play-based preschool focuses heavily on a child’s social and emotional development. While we do weave academics into our school day, we do it through play. Kids learn simple math through songs and games. We introduce letters with songs, puppets, games, and our famous “letter box.”
Our classrooms are full of games, toys, art supplies, and activities that help kids build strength in their hands. The kids use scissors, crayons, play dough, and paintbrushes to create art each day. They listen to stories, practice standing in lines, and learn to follow simple directions. They learn how to join a group of friends, ask a grown-up for help, and manage conflict with their peers.
Katie talked a lot about how children must feel confident separating from their parents and develop a love of school so that they can really shine in Kindergarten. We take that job very seriously–and have a lot of fun doing it!--because we know that many of our kids are having their first school experience at Wooddale.
Our school is a comfortable, supportive place where kids have many positive and loving interactions with their teachers and peers each day. We know that our play-based curriculum and warm environment can give kids the confidence and skills they need to be successful in school because we see it every day!
Learn More About Play-Based Preschool
Teachers Sue, Julie, Christina, and Karita are happy to answer any questions you have about our supportive play-based preschool program. Reach out to us to schedule a tour or register online today!
Instilling Confidence in Your Children
As parents and preschool teachers, the four of us are constantly learning about how to best support our kids at each stage of their lives. Sue’s children are adults now, and she tells the rest of us that you never really stop worrying about your kids at any point–even when they’re old enough to be parents themselves.
For many parents, the world seems to be getting less safe for our children as time passes. And even when you read statistics about how relatively safe our kids are out in the world, there’s no doubt that parents today face a lot of anxiety about things that we understand to be objectively safe. Letting our kids go out and play in the neighborhood, attend school, visit friends, and travel can seem riskier than they actually are.
Where does this extra fear come from, and how can we raise children without letting anxiety rule our parenting? Last Spring, we were fortunate to have Brooks Wilkening, a licensed family therapist, speak to our families about instilling confidence in our children by reducing our own anxiety. This topic is on our own minds as parents and teachers. We know it’s on the minds of many of our families because, let’s be honest here: the last few years have been very, very challenging.
Parenting through a pandemic has been exhausting. We’ve changed how we do even the most basic things. Grocery shopping, sending kids to school, seeing loved ones–we’ve all been forced to do a lot of mental math to determine if and how to do things that we used to do without much thought. With Covid and many events we see in the news, the world can sometimes feel like a scary place to raise children.
So, how can we all parent from a place of confidence instead of fear? And how does play-based preschool fit into that goal? Let’s talk about it! We’ve summarized some of the ideas our licensed psychologist, Brooks Wilkening, presented and some of the ideas from the Big Life Journal, which is a great parenting resource.
Understanding Fear-Based Parenting
Fear-based parenting comes from a place of wanting to protect our kids from pain, disappointment, or failure. While it’s natural to want to protect kids from a world that can sometimes feel scary, taking this too far may prevent kids from developing the skills and confidence to navigate the world during childhood and beyond.
Fear-based parenting conveys to children that they aren’t capable of meeting challenges and that the world is a harsh and scary place. It is about what we say to our children and ourselves.
Fear-based parenting often sounds like:
“Don’t climb that tree–you might fall and break a bone!”
If I let my child quit this activity, they’ll never follow through with anything in life.
If my child doesn’t do well in school now, they’ll be unsuccessful in college and life.
On the flip side, non-anxious parenting conveys calm and confidence. It doesn’t mean that you stop worrying about your kids–it just means that you parent actively instead of reactively.
Parenting to Instill Confidence
Non-anxious parenting means developing confidence in your child’s abilities and letting them know you trust them to do something age-appropriate. This does NOT mean letting your children engage in hazardous behaviors without supervision–it simply means letting them take appropriate risks without telling your child the bad things that could happen or sharing your anxiety.
Non-anxious parenting might sound like:
“I believe you can do hard things!”
“You can always ask for help if you need it.”
“I trust you.”
“I believe you can learn how to do this.”
Parenting from a place of fear and anxiety may make you want to keep your kids inside and not let them explore the world. Instead, find ways to instill confidence while allowing your children to develop new skills. If they’re climbing something and you feel anxious, take some deep breaths and watch them work. If they get anxious, try to talk them through the next steps instead of rescuing them immediately.
How Can Play-Based Preschool Instill Confidence?
Children have many opportunities at school to take risks, try new things, and build their confidence. We sometimes see young children nervously approach the climber at the beginning of the year. They may ask for help climbing to the top. Our response is not to help the child climb up but to instill confidence in their ability to try it themselves. We say things like:
Look at how your friend climbed up–they put their hands up here. Could you try that?
Keep trying and you’ll get a little stronger every day.
Wow, I see you way up there! You must have been practicing hard!
Children often seek opportunities to learn or practice skills they want or need. They may see an older child writing letters and want to do the same. They might be curious about what finger paint feels like–even if they’re a little hesitant to touch it. Our job is to convey that we believe they’re capable of doing something and avoid rescuing them immediately if they become “stuck” or frustrated.
Our ultimate goal is to provide many play opportunities and new experiences each day and let the kids know we trust them to take some risks. We’ve seen many examples of children who feel a little unsure of themselves at first and then develop heaps of confidence over the year. We know they will bring that confidence home and into the world, including elementary school.
The Play-Based Preschool Approach
Wooddale Community Nursery School is a play-based preschool in St. Louis Park that was founded over 25 years ago. Today, it continues to be a hidden gem in the community. Many generations of families have trusted their children’s early years to WCNS–including each of us teachers!
Play-based preschool is based on the idea that play is a child’s work. Wooddale Community Nursery School has followed the same time-tested preschool approach for decades. The teachers get to know each child and their family, which makes the school feel like a community. We also take every opportunity to engage with our communities and the world around us. Our goal is to provide each child with a range of enriching experiences that will help prepare them for school and life.
If you or someone you know is looking for a play-based preschool in St. Louis Park, please reach out to us for more information about joining our school.
What is Play-Based Preschool?
The play-based preschool approach may sound simple: engage kids in open-ended play and provide an enriching, varied environment for them to explore.
The results of play-based preschool? Kids learn the social skills they’ll need to build healthy relationships throughout their life. They feel safe a secure at school and learn that other adults care about and can help them. Kids learn how to follow a predictable routine at school and solve problems.
And of course, kids learn to identify letters and the sounds they make, how to count and do very simple math, and a variety of social and science skills. In our play-based preschool, these skills are taught with music, play, and hands-on experiences instead of rote memorization or repetition.
There’s research to support the play-based preschool approach. Early childhood experts have found that play-based preschools can actually produce better educational results than ones that focus on academic instruction. When children are playing, they are using their imagination and creativity to solve complex, real-world problems. They are engaged and invested in what they are doing, and what they learn stays with them for life.
Does Play-Based Preschool Prepare Kids for Kindergarten?
This is a common question for parents who are concerned about their kids being ready for the rigors of Kindergarten. As parents, we get it! Most Kindergarteners will be expected to attend school for an entire day and the first year of school has become increasingly academic.
Recently, Wooddale Community Nursery School hosted an informational parents’ night out. We invited a local Kindergarten teacher (and WCNS parent!) and a child psychologist to speak about the transition to Kindergarten.
Our Kindergarten teacher spoke about key skills a child needs to succeed in a modern Kindergarten classroom, including:
Being able to sustain attention on a task for 5-10 minutes at a time
Following a teacher’s directions
Identifying colors, shapes, numbers, and some letters
Being able to write some or all of their name
Feeling comfortable asking a teacher for help
Being able to join a group of peers
Play-based preschool helps children learn the social and emotional skills they’ll need for Kindergarten–and the rest of their time in school–and also offers a play-based focus on numbers, letters, and pre-reading and writing skills.
We love to watch the kids’ progress throughout the year. Our students leave our school well prepared for Kindergarten, feeling confident and excited about school!
Learn More About Joining Our School
If you are looking for a play-based preschool in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, or Edina and want to learn more about our program, call us at 952-926-2123. You may also download a registration form on our Home page.
Reflecting on the first week
Here we are, at the end of our first week of the new school year. I (Christina) am writing today, and I’m reflecting on this week not only as a teacher but as a parent of school-aged children. To all you parents and grandparents, we want to say THANK YOU. Thank you for doing everything you have done to prepare your kids to wear masks in school. Thank you for making drop-off and pick-up so successful. Thank you for your kind words. But most of all, thank you for trusting your most special people with us. We never take that lightly, and we feel even more honored by your confidence this year. The kids are very good at wearing masks and washing their hands, and the four of us are busy sanitizing and cleaning throughout the day. Together, we are doing all we can to ensure our year is healthy, safe, and fun.
This week went by quickly for us! We have been amazed at how engaged your children are at school and how well they play with each other. The four of us know that each child has had their own unique journey to this school year—some have had very little experience playing with other children or listening to another adult. We have been overwhelmed by your kids’ openness and courage!
It was so calm and peaceful during the large group playtime today. You would have never guessed that there were 23 children sharing the space! Kids who were feeling a little unsure on Tuesday are beginning to seem more comfortable. We are learning about them—their likes and dislikes, their pets and wishes, their fears, their personalities. It’s a joy to watch them get comfortable in this new place and to get to know them as the unique little people they are.
I’m sure many of your kids will be very tired after our busy week! We are looking forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday!
—Christina, Sue, Julie, and Karita
Why is Play So Important?
When we look at a room full of kids who are laughing, engaging, and exploring, it’s easy to see that play is fun. But play is so much more than just fun—it’s essential! The Americal Academy of Pediatrics published a paper in 2007 that outlined the importance of play and recommended more—much more!—unstructured playtime for kids. Their guidance comes from concerns about kids living hurried, overstructured lives.
So, why is play so important? According to the AAP, the benefits of play in early childhood include:
Healthy brain development
Conquering fears
Developing imagination
Increased confidence
Manual and physical dexterity
Developing emotional, cognitive, and physical strength
At Wooddale, we create an environment that allows kids to get new sensory experiences, practice social skills, and develop their problem-solving abilities. Art, music, movement, and play happen within a safe, loving environment. Younger kids learn by watching the older ones, and the “big kids” develop their patience and empathy by helping the younger children. The kids have fun while learning about themselves, their friends, and their community.
When the teachers are with the kids, we see all kinds of play. We really love seeing what we call “good play”—when kids are engaged and excited about the stories they’re creating. When they have that “lightbulb moment”. When they invite someone else into their imaginative world. Those are the moments that make it clear to us that play-based education is the best path in early childhood.
If you’re interested in a play-based preschool in Minneapolis, please reach out to us to learn more about our program. We would love to meet you and your child!